Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (released on March 18) and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (dropped on May 6) are still fresh stages in the evolution of the two operating systems but Microsoft is taking additional aspects across the platforms to the next level. Case in point: the release of the final version of Windows Search 4.0, not only for Vista SP1 and XP SP3, but also for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003. Windows Search 4.0 will kick the default search infrastructure of both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows client and server operating systems up a notch. The last server platform Microsoft unveiled in 2007, Windows Home Server, is also supported.

"This release comes after a public Windows Search 4.0 Preview, which was a success thanks to great community participation - with around 300,000 downloads. Since the Preview was released, a number of quality improvements have been made to the product based on feedback provided by the community," revealed Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc. "First and foremost: we've introduced some performance and reliability improvements. Queries are faster, as is indexing - how much faster depends on your machine and your data. Improved reliability means that system failures won't get in the way of the indexer and all of your data will be scanned and available for searches."

Windows Search 4.0 is designed to index a variety of items in Windows, including emails, documents, music, digital images, etc. but also to play well with content from solutions such as Office Outlook 2007 and Office OneNote 2007 and even Exchange. Specifically, Windows Server 4.0 will integrate seamlessly with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2. The 32-bit version of Windows XP SP3 also enjoys support along with the 64-bit variant of XP, with Windows Home Server as the last product on the list.

Concomitantly with the availability of the final version of Windows Search 4.0, Microsoft dropped the Multilingual User Interface Pack for the search upgrade. A total of 30 languages are supported; however, the MUI packages can only be installed on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 because the MUI architecture of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 differs from the previous versions of the client and server platforms. So far, the Windows Search 4.0 and the accompanying MUI Packs can be grabbed manually from the Download Center. However, in the future, Microsoft plans to start distribution via Automatic Updates.

"In the future, we will make Windows Search 4.0 available on Windows Update as well. At that time you will be able to install Windows Search 4.0 off the update site directly or deploy it in your organization using WSUS," LeBlanc added. Once Windows Search 4.0 becomes available on Windows Update, Windows XP users will see it as an "optional" update, which requires users to select the update for installation; users running Windows Vista will see the update as "recommended" (by default, recommended updates are installed automatically); on Windows Server 2008, the update will be applicable only if the File Server Role is enabled.

Windows Search 4.0 is available for download here.
The Multilingual User Interface Pack for Windows Search 4.0 can be downloaded from here.